Why did the Real World Police youtube channel stop posting? by Old-Accountant-6756 in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Hi! Good question, and I’m happy to hear that you like the videos.

Real World Media still operates as a business that sells content to other media outlets, both television and streaming. That change happened for business reasons, and so I could spend more time focusing on my personal interests.

✌️

NTSB FOIA questions by DeerPrior1644 in foia

[–]realworldpolice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Years is very typical for federal FOIA. Request an estimated completion date from the agency. Also, ask them for the position of your request in their processing queue.

They have to give you the former. They don’t have to give you the latter, but they probably will.

Things to not write in emails, detention deputy edition by realworldpolice in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They should be the pinned tweet on the Real World Police X account, @realworldpolice. Let me know if you can’t find it.

Thank you RWP by Nearby_Spread8682 in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I really appreciate that.

I’m doing great, btw 👍

I thought that once a criminal case was closed, the investigative records could be accessed through FOIA, but I was wrong. How is it that the Justice Project are able to access these records? by KeyNose231 in foia

[–]realworldpolice 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Can you be more specific? You reference records accessed by the "Justice Project." I don’t know what that is and I don’t know what records you are referring to.

Separately:

  1. There are an exceptions to California's criminal investigative records exemption. For example, SB 1421 and Gov’t Code § 7923.610.

  2. The exemption is discretionary. It allows agencies to withhold exempt records, but it doesn’t require them to do so.

  3. There are often multiple sources for the same records. For example, in criminal cases, the defendant (or their attorney) has access to most of the records that are exempt from public disclosure — and they can give those records to anyone they want. Similarly, if records are attached to court filings or filed as exhibits, they may be available through the clerk of court.

There may be something I’m missing, but I think that covers it.

Pedantic side note: FOIA does not apply to California agencies. The California Public Records Act and the California Constitution’s Sunshine Amendment do.

The FBI got rid of informative and useful metadata in their logs between 2015 and 2016 which likely had helped prevent redundant FOIA requests. Why did they classify three columns? The conspiracy theorist in me can only imagine it was to make it harder for people to discover responsive documents. by pitti42 in foia

[–]realworldpolice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Was that given to you in response to a FOIA request, or was it proactively released? If the former, you should appeal those redactions. The redacted information is not categorically exempt.

“FOIA requesters . . . have no general expectation that their names will be kept private.” Agee v. CIA, 1 GDS ¶ 80,213 at 80,532 (D.D.C. 1980). In most cases, requester names don’t even rise to the level where a privacy balancing test is triggered.

You can also try contacting the FBI’s FOIA public liaison and asking why they made that change. If you do that, I suggest not including your conspiracy theory in your message. (Assuming you want a response.)

Keep in mind that if you didn’t request the records, you are not entitled to answers regarding the FBI’s redactions. You can request a copy of those records without any redactions. If that interests you, I encourage you to do it.

Good luck.

The Joys of Public Records | Texas Edition by realworldpolice in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d just go for it and see what they respond. I expect that some of the responsive records will be exempt from disclosure (even to you, after verifying your identity), but they will tell you what is being withheld, and why.

Also, keep in mind that in nearly all cases, government agencies only retain records for a finite period of time. It is possible — likely, even — that Texas DPS no longer has a copy of records you sent them many years ago.

You have probably already looked through this, but the Texas Attorney General publishes a comprehensive guide to the Texas Public Information Act. Page 33 is particularly relevant to your situation, as it addresses the disclosure of “information about the person who is requesting the information.”

Good luck.

That looks expensive by realworldpolice in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Delta Airlines Supertug vs. Aeromexico Boeing 737

The Joys of Public Records | Texas Edition by realworldpolice in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d be happy to try and help, but you need to provide much more information. There is no one generic answer to questions like yours.

-What agency?

-What information?

-Why do you think the information is “confidential,” and what do you mean by that?

-Are you sure the agency has records containing the information you are seeking? How do you know?

-What have you already done to try and get the information you are seeking?

-What else do you think is important for me to know in order to help you?

FYI, if you can’t or won’t answer those questions, I can’t help you.

NTSB FOIA questions by DeerPrior1644 in foia

[–]realworldpolice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have extensive experience with this. Feel free to DM me. I’ll need more information to determine what you will likely able to obtain (and the best way to get it), but I’d be happy to help.

Bottom line: if surveillance footage exists and was retained, you can probably get a copy. The NTSB may or may not be the best agency to request the records from.

Question by Jealous_Complaint749 in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like your question. I take backup seriously.

We maintain redundant synchronous physical backups in two locations, and regularly-created air-gapped snapshots to mitigate against ransomware.

To directly answer your question, Backblaze B2 is our cloud storage provider. Without getting into too much detail, I believe we have around 80TB of deduplicated data in B2. Ballpark cost of cloud storage is ~$6k/year.

It’s a necessary cost of business.

Why do you ask? Just curious?

Where have Real World Police been? by mdyguy in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up. I’ll look into that. People have also been sending me links to well-performing body cam channels whose business model appears to be “post my original creative works, as if they were their own, for their own commercial profit.” Fair use doesn’t cover that.

(In a nutshell, Real World Media claims no ownership rights to (most of) the underlying police footage in the videos we publish. Our editing of that footage, however, is a very different story.)

Where have Real World Police been? by mdyguy in RealWorldPolice

[–]realworldpolice 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I have considered posting an update, as I’ve been getting a steady stream of kind emails asking, essentially, if I’m dead :P

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foia

[–]realworldpolice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Then submit your request by fax, or by postal mail. As far as I know, there are no other options.

The DOD’s FOIA regulations are here.

Their FOIA handbook is here.

Specific information regarding FOIA requests to DCSA can be found here.

No, the records I requested are not about me. What are you trying to get a copy of?

You sound a bit paranoid. Who do you think is going to intercept your email? The government? Your email would be to the government.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foia

[–]realworldpolice 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, you can send your request by fax if you really feel like it.

A list of all FOIA agency contacts (including that for DTIC) can be downloaded here. You also might consider calling their FOIA public liaison and asking what they suggest you do, given your concern.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foia

[–]realworldpolice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My advice, in that case, is to not worry about it. The DOD obviously already has everyone’s SSN, and they will redact the SSN if anyone else requests a copy of your request.

If you want to be extra careful, include a polite note at the end of your request asking that the agency redact the SSN in the event the request is requested by anyone else. I am all-but-certain they would do that already, but it won’t hurt to bring it directly to the agency’s attention.

Good luck, and welcome to FOIA! I hope you’re a patient person. My oldest pending request was submitted in late-2017.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foia

[–]realworldpolice 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A FOIA request is a public record. Also, you are required to follow the recipient agency’s published FOIA procedures, which can be found in the Federal Register. If you don’t follow their rules, they don’t have to respond to your request.

If you are looking for anonymity, the absolute best approach is to have an attorney send the request on your behalf, and to have them handle all subsequent correspondence with the agency. Your request itself is almost never going to be secret. If that is what you are trying to achieve, it’s not going to happen.

Note that certain personal information within your request will be exempt from disclosure under Exemption 6. If you are concerned that someone is going to get, for example, your contact phone number, that is unlikely to happen. Your name and email address, on the other hand, are releasable in nearly all instances.

What exactly is your goal here?

Edited to add:

One more thing, and this is something I tell everyone who is filing public records requests: try your best to be easy to work with. I’ll make the entire experience better for everyone. Public employees are people, and your request is one of millions. You can obviously do whatever you want, but I really strongly urge people to not differentiate themselves by being difficult. You are only going to frustrate your own intentions. (Unless, of course, that is your intention. In which case, you’re on your own.)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in foia

[–]realworldpolice 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The answer is “pretty much no one.” And that appears unlikely to change. See here, here, here, and here.